So long 8:00 to 5:00
I’m going through a whirlwind of change. I’ve reached the magic age where one can stop working full-time and still have health insurance, so I retired! It’s been three weeks, and we’ve traveled two-thirds of the way across the continent and back by car. We met our new grandbaby and tried our best to keep up with her three-year-old brother.
We’ve been home for a week, and I’m halfway through painting my sewing room. Officially, it’s my playroom, a small bedroom on the second floor. It contains a full-size drafting table, a ten-foot quilting frame, and two sewing machines. I can’t get most of it through the door, so I’m just pushing tables and machines around and painting one wall at a time. I’m not the tiniest bit stressed out.
I finally finished these pace mats
I bought a bundle of Lotta Jansdotter fabrics from Laura in my quilting guild, and the prints have a funky mid-century modern kick that reminds me a lot of my parent’s kitchen in the ’60s. I started playing with drunkards’ path blocks because you get a big swatch of feature fabric in each block. This odd shape caught my eye after I tried the blocks in a dozen or so configurations. I love it – it’s the same shape upside-down as right-side-up.
I haven’t made new placemats for years. The binding is wearing out on the last set I sewed. With rounded corners and wavey quilting, these were an easy make. I made six, and even though they are small, binding that many was a chore. I am resolved to master machine binding if it’s the last thing I do!
I have a few housewares projects on my to-do list that I finally have an opportunity to work on. I promised my sweetie I would make new curtains for the living room. I also plan to create a set of napkins and finish a couple of quilts that have been hanging around for a while.
A batch of fish to work on
I made up these fish from an Ann Wood Handmade free pattern. I love her designs. She has a beautiful insight into the world of imagination. I’ll work on stuffing and embellishing these as time and inspiration allow.
It feels good to be writing in this space again! The last few months have been a time of stressful endings and hopeful beginnings. I took the Pattern Writing Academy created by Amber Elliot this spring, and it took up so much time that I had to let this little project slide for a while. The plus side is that I learned a ton of valuable information! I’ve completed one quilt pattern that wants to be released to the world, and I have some excellent ideas cooking for future designs. There is still so much more to learn and so many creative artists to learn from that I’ll be happily busy for a long time!
Grandbabies are the best!
